*Photograph: Arthur Ellis
ONE OF CLARE’s most respected Garda officers has this week retired from the force.
Superintendent John Galvin on Wednesday retired from An Garda Síochána after over three decades of service.
For his involvement in the rescue of an elderly man from a fire in Blackrock, Dublin in 1990, John received a Scott Medal citation which is the highest award that can be bestowed by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána and is awarded for ‘most exceptional bravery and heroism involving the risk of life in the execution of duty’.
Twenty seven years after arriving in Co Clare, John embarks on a new chapter, for all but three and a half years of those twenty seven he was stationed within the county, a spell in Galway as an inspector seeing him cross the county boundary.
Formerly the most senior detective in the Clare Garda Division, he became the thirteenth superintendent in Kilrush over a twenty five year period when he was appointed in 2016. He had first worked in the West Clare town as a sergeant. He also served as Head of the Garda Traffic Corps in Clare.
In October 2021, he was transferred from the Kilrush Garda District to the Ennis Garda District remaining in the role of Superintendent, this was the final move of a long and illustrious career within An Garda Síochána.
Following the retirement of Chief Supt John Kerin in 2019, Galvin the former head of the Garda Traffic Corps in Clare filled the role temporarily before the appointment of Michael Gubbins and later Seán Colleran.
Reflecting on his working career in the county, John stated, “I arrived to the county twenty seven years ago, I came down from Dublin on transfer as an experiment, for all of that time except three and a half years I’ve been working in Clare. It was privilege to get paid to work in the county and live among the people and be part of the community, the welcome and support I got and my family got has been incredible. There isn’t a part of the county we don’t know or haven’t walked, we’ve met the finest of people and most supportive of people you could meet”.
He added, “I’m a loyal Kerry man but a proud and vocal Clare supporter and always will be. It’s the ordinary Joe soap in Clare which gives you the privilege to serve here”.
Galvin said he was always “very proud” to stand up and represent An Garda Síochána regardless of the setting. “I was paid to do something I loved to do, I was paid to do it among the community I was proud to be a part of it. I’ll see my days out in Clare, hopefully they will be long and fruitful. I won’t stay idle, I will be out enjoying the fresh air for as long as I’m lucky enough to be alive”.
Warm tributes were paid to Supt Galvin at what was his final time attending a meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC).
Chief Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan noted it was “a special day”. He spoke of the bravery shown by John in Blackrock back in 1990, the building “was on fire and collapsing” and “he risked his own life going in to rescue a person who otherwise would have possibly died, that didn’t stop him. He has given fantastic service to Clare and An Garda Síochána”.
O’Sullivan continued, “He is retiring out of Ennis, what he has done for his community and An Garda Síochána words can’t describe it. When we look at a person coming to retirement we look at what they’ve achieved, his resilience is fantastic. He is well prepared for his retirement”.
His successor as Chief Supt, Seán Colleran was also in attendance for the meeting. The Galway native credited Supt Galvin for the influence shown during his career. “Everyone has been influenced by people in their career, when John was an inspector in Galway in the 2000s I was a Sergeant, he had been a divisional clerk in Ennis, he asked if I’d consider it but in my opinion people in offices didn’t know what was going on, he said I’d appreciate the value of the role so I did it and I wouldn’t be here in this role were it not for John. He made my job much easier. He is an outstanding person, he brought the calm to every situation, he was the calming voice in the room, Clare and Ennis has been very well served, I’ve no doubt his links to the community will stay strong. He’s always very happy but I’ve no doubt he will be happier from next Wednesday”.
Director of Service with Clare County Council, Leonard Cleary noted that Supt Galvin had been “a very close friend” of the local authority. “John was in and out of the offices here on a regular basis, he always had a bounce in his step, I’ve been working close to him for 20 years, first on RAPID programme and then in the different districts. I want to acknowledge John’s contribution for his service to An Garda Síochána the way he went about his business, he has immersed himself in the community but so have his family on the sporting field, your Kerry pedigree has served you well coming out the county and I say that as somone married to a Kerry woman”.
Chair of the JPC, Cllr John Crowe (FG) felt that Supt Galvin was “always very genuine, he is a straight talker and very respected”.
Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) admitted he was “sad to see John Galvin leave” because “good men are scarce. I wish John well, I’ve no doubt that he will be active in town and something will come up, it’s a pity that good men leave the force at an early age”. Cathal Crowe TD (FF) paid tribute to Supt Galvin for his “great years of service”.
